Medieval Gem Lore + The Stone Witch of Florence
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Taught by Anna Rasche
Anna Rasche is an author, gemologist, and historian who has previously worked in the jewelry collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her debut novel, The Stone Witch of Florence, was an October 2024 Indie Next pick, and was recommended by the Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, BookRiot and many others. Her writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, CrimeReads, and elsewhere.
She is currently working on her second novel, THE MIDNIGHT DIAMOND, forthcoming from HarperCollins/Park Row.
Location: Prospect Heights Brainery (190 Underhill Ave in Prospect Heights, BK)
Join gemologist and jewelry historian Anna Rasche to celebrate the paperback release of her novel, The Stone Witch of Florence. Ticket includes a lively presentation on the medieval gem lore that inspired the novel + happy hour drinks.
- Learn about medieval lapidary manuscripts, and the research journey that took Anna from the stacks of NYC libraries to ancient Etruscan tombs
- See examples of the "magical" jewels currently held in NYC collections
- Signed copies will be available for purchase at the event, while supplies last.
About the book:
The Stone Witch of Florence is a Globe & Mail bestseller, and a Washington Post noteworthy book.
1348. As the Black Plague ravages Italy, Ginevra di Gasparo is summoned to Florence after nearly a decade of lonely exile. Ginevra has a gift—harnessing the hidden powers of gemstones, she can heal the sick. But when word spread of her unusual abilities, she was condemned as a witch and banished. Now the same men who expelled Ginevra are begging for her return.
Ginevra obliges, assuming the city’s leaders are finally ready to accept her unorthodox cures amid a pandemic. But upon arrival, she is tasked with a much different mission: she must use her collection of jewels to track down a ruthless thief who is ransacking Florence’s churches for priceless relics—the city’s only hope for protection. If she succeeds, she’ll be a recognized physician and never accused of witchcraft again.
But as her investigation progresses, Ginevra discovers she’s merely a pawn in a much larger scheme than the one she’s been hired to solve. And the dangerous men behind this conspiracy won’t think twice about killing a stone witch to get what they want…
Be sure to select your preferred ticket option from the drop down menu on the next page:
- $31 talk + signed copy of The Stone Witch of Florence
- $12 talk only
